Like any other traveler after a long international flight, I came to Auckland, New Zealand groggy, tired, and with a massive appetite fit for a king. After dropping off my suitcases where I would make my new home for the next four months, I set out to fulfill my hunger needs that suited an ailing student's budget.
After walking aimlessly in the city for about an hour, I stumbled upon a food court that seemed to me more diverse than the United Nations itself.
There was a Chinese restaurant that served classic Peking duck, an Indian shop selling naan and curry, a Japanese bar selling a rainbow of sushi, while a simple hot dogs and burgers cart stood nearby (and if I may, I was quite heartbroken when there was no Mexican food. Ah! Still currently looking for some as I write this essay). The point I wish to make here is this: after only living in New Zealand for approximately a month, religion here seems to be as diverse, as flavorful, and eye-popping as the food that I encountered on my first full day in one of Aucklands famous food courts.
In 2007, New Zealand released the National Statement on Religious Diversity, which proudly acknowledges that the country consists of multiple faiths, including a significant number of those who claim no religion at all. In Auckland, this religious diversity is extremely apparent street by street, block by block. Downtown, as the famous song would make note, everything indeed was waiting for you, religiously speaking. I would find people shouting at the top of their lungs, preaching the Christian faith either through spoken word or through music. Continuing on down Queen Street, the main walkway in Auckland, it would not be out of the ordinary to find multiple amounts of women wearing Muslim headscarves or a rabbi walking nearby. In small shops across the city, shop owners would quietly profess their faith through the use of religious objects, as I once came across a Filipino restaurant whose owner proudly displayed a statue of the Virgin Mary near his cash register.
Near the University of Auckland, where I am currently studying, there are various religious structures that are within steps of each other that attest to New Zealand's proud acceptance of its religious diversity. There is a Presbyterian Church that in addition to giving regular services on Sunday, offers a special service in Indonesian to cater to a growing population of migrants coming from Indonesia. Down the street, there is the oldest church in New Zealand, St. Paul's, which since its foundation in 1841 has been proudly looking out for the welfare of the city of Auckland. Across the street from St. Paul's, there is a Methodist Chapel and a marae, a ceremonial ground for the native indigenous Maori population who have resided in New Zealand for centuries. Clearly, one does not have to walk far to experience or come across a form of religion or faith-based system in the city of Auckland.
Though not without controversy, the 2007 statement on religious diversity had been the subject of much heated debate in New Zealand politics when it first came out and continues so today. One political party in particular, Destiny New Zealand, which coincidentally holds no seats in parliament and no longer exists today, had been the most vocal critic of the document. Much of the opposition lied in the very first clause Proclaiming that New Zealand has no official or established religion. Destiny New Zealand's leader, Brian Tamaki, claimed that such a statement put out by the New Zealand government was in fact committing treason. Though other members of Parliament scoffed at the accusation, there was a certain grain of truth to Tamaki's claim. New Zealand may have its own government, its own prime minister, and its secluded position down in the South Pacific, but its head of state is none other than Queen Elizabeth II herself, who in addition of reining over the Commonwealths that exist around the world, is also the head of the Church of England, which New Zealand also falls under jurisdiction of. New Zealand continues to face this paradox of proclaiming itself a secular nation as a result of such diversity, while reassessing its Christian past, present, and future.
There remains much to be seen in New Zealand, but for the most part, the atmosphere appears to be very liberal and accepting of the various religious beliefs and institutions that currently exist in the country. Having grown up in Los Angeles, studied in Washington, DC, and visited New York and London on a number of occasions, such diversity would only make one think that conflict between groups is bound to happen. Quite the contrary in Auckland; it just works, and may very well be the subject of further analysis as to why that is. So, like the food court on that very first confusing and disoriented day, the differing religions in New Zealand sit side by side one another, ready to serve up anyone who is lost and hungry enough to indulge in the delights of their faith. Bon Appetite!
There was a Chinese restaurant that served classic Peking duck, an Indian shop selling naan and curry, a Japanese bar selling a rainbow of sushi, while a simple hot dogs and burgers cart stood nearby (and if I may, I was quite heartbroken when there was no Mexican food. Ah! Still currently looking for some as I write this essay). The point I wish to make here is this: after only living in New Zealand for approximately a month, religion here seems to be as diverse, as flavorful, and eye-popping as the food that I encountered on my first full day in one of Aucklands famous food courts.
In 2007, New Zealand released the National Statement on Religious Diversity, which proudly acknowledges that the country consists of multiple faiths, including a significant number of those who claim no religion at all. In Auckland, this religious diversity is extremely apparent street by street, block by block. Downtown, as the famous song would make note, everything indeed was waiting for you, religiously speaking. I would find people shouting at the top of their lungs, preaching the Christian faith either through spoken word or through music. Continuing on down Queen Street, the main walkway in Auckland, it would not be out of the ordinary to find multiple amounts of women wearing Muslim headscarves or a rabbi walking nearby. In small shops across the city, shop owners would quietly profess their faith through the use of religious objects, as I once came across a Filipino restaurant whose owner proudly displayed a statue of the Virgin Mary near his cash register.
Near the University of Auckland, where I am currently studying, there are various religious structures that are within steps of each other that attest to New Zealand's proud acceptance of its religious diversity. There is a Presbyterian Church that in addition to giving regular services on Sunday, offers a special service in Indonesian to cater to a growing population of migrants coming from Indonesia. Down the street, there is the oldest church in New Zealand, St. Paul's, which since its foundation in 1841 has been proudly looking out for the welfare of the city of Auckland. Across the street from St. Paul's, there is a Methodist Chapel and a marae, a ceremonial ground for the native indigenous Maori population who have resided in New Zealand for centuries. Clearly, one does not have to walk far to experience or come across a form of religion or faith-based system in the city of Auckland.
Though not without controversy, the 2007 statement on religious diversity had been the subject of much heated debate in New Zealand politics when it first came out and continues so today. One political party in particular, Destiny New Zealand, which coincidentally holds no seats in parliament and no longer exists today, had been the most vocal critic of the document. Much of the opposition lied in the very first clause Proclaiming that New Zealand has no official or established religion. Destiny New Zealand's leader, Brian Tamaki, claimed that such a statement put out by the New Zealand government was in fact committing treason. Though other members of Parliament scoffed at the accusation, there was a certain grain of truth to Tamaki's claim. New Zealand may have its own government, its own prime minister, and its secluded position down in the South Pacific, but its head of state is none other than Queen Elizabeth II herself, who in addition of reining over the Commonwealths that exist around the world, is also the head of the Church of England, which New Zealand also falls under jurisdiction of. New Zealand continues to face this paradox of proclaiming itself a secular nation as a result of such diversity, while reassessing its Christian past, present, and future.
There remains much to be seen in New Zealand, but for the most part, the atmosphere appears to be very liberal and accepting of the various religious beliefs and institutions that currently exist in the country. Having grown up in Los Angeles, studied in Washington, DC, and visited New York and London on a number of occasions, such diversity would only make one think that conflict between groups is bound to happen. Quite the contrary in Auckland; it just works, and may very well be the subject of further analysis as to why that is. So, like the food court on that very first confusing and disoriented day, the differing religions in New Zealand sit side by side one another, ready to serve up anyone who is lost and hungry enough to indulge in the delights of their faith. Bon Appetite!
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